


with this geass i solemnly do accept.

by rushifaas



Category: Code Geass
Genre: Canon Compliant, Childhood Trauma, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Drug Abuse, Drug Use, Falling In Love, Love at First Sight, M/M, Major Character(s), Minor Character(s), Misunderstandings, Original Character(s), Parallel Universes, Post-Canon, Therapy, Trans Male Character, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-18 08:36:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28864167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rushifaas/pseuds/rushifaas
Summary: 《 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐈'𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥,𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐮𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞 》----"how much longer do you wish to stay in your own cage?""you're not real. you can't be real."
Relationships: Julius Kingsley/Kururugi Suzaku, Kururugi Suzaku/Lelouch Lamperouge | Lelouch vi Britannia
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	1. enough, enough now ( there's more unsaid ).

**Author's Note:**

> after much consideration, there will be THREE fics to work on. this one, fragile bones and the wingfic.
> 
> now this one... we haven't seen any recent fics like this done yet. also there are some oc's here from us and some friends. hope you like them too!
> 
> the premise is that post r2 and post movie are two different worlds. when suzaku is zero, lelouch never came back to life. in the movie world, lelouch is back alive but suzaku is dead. so what will happen if they meet?

the world of c surely, most obviously, had a thing to torment those alive and those dead. it's quite a horrible truth given how those alive desired only to cause another pain. the world isn't truly just  _ one _ sky. there were other worlds shrouded in darkness and empty as the void of space. and even still, the collective consciousness demands some sort of  **entertainment** for the grieving dead. they didn't care who it was, if it was right or wrong, for they wanted to see those alive in pain. those bearing the  **_code_ ** from those different worlds can tell. it didn't take much as usual. at times there would be a sharp, subtle pain or a heavy headache that came full force. 

**lelouch vi britannia** ,  _ once _ deceased now immortal with charles' code, felt the pains every now and then. he never stayed dead since zero requiem due to his accomplices disrespect of using her selfishness to revive him; as she revived him along with the help of kallen and old members of the black knights. suzaku after all that had apparently had jeremiah's aid to cancel the live order and zero lived on as sayako. lelouch had been against it  _ yet _ he couldn't take away suzaku's choice to live or die. the immortal at least had the comfort knowing his old friend could die in peace. did it hurt? yes, of course. there wasn't ever a time where it never did. 

"lelouch. i picked up an activity in southern germany. it's the same one in egypt." the green haired witch lands next to him, wearing a light blue blouse, black skirt and black thigh boots. her long green hair was in a french braid with red tinted sunglasses hiding her eyes. she smooths out the skirt she wore, sitting next to the boy while he stared at the newspaper. they had been doing this for four months now, gaining little information with heavy leads. 

_ it was like a wild goose chase _ . 

"southern germany? that's quite a ways away…" 

"tell me about it. i had a hard time in c's world trying to track it. they really want to stop us from knowing the truth."

the sound of the newspaper rustling came next when lelouch handed her the newspaper. c.c. takes it due to boredom, flipping through the pages as she skimmed over the gaudy text and columns. something catches her eye, possibly what lelouch was looking at and then crumpled the newspaper in slight irritation. she blames lelouch for the ability to  **feel** anything. ever since lelouch's resurrection they went after those who abuse the power of geass and kill them, even those that wander from c's world. not too long ago in egypt they encountered a strange event where it felt like the world underwent an earthquake but no one else felt it. later on they found a random tear by a few pyramids and when they looked they could see a different world. before any of them could check it out more it had closed instantly. the news had allowed strange cults to place hogwash onto social media all because suzaku died and the new zero only focused on keeping peace. cults weren't an issue.

"possibilities of another world parallel to ours exist. it's not too far fetched since time and space is seriously complex, dimensions in theory as well. if the world of c is bending these rhetorical dimensions then we might be paying the price for it." lelouch shook his head as he was  _ slightly _ agitated. the very idea would've made him scoff. the power of geass, the existence of c's world and his immortality makes it less dubious. the witch lifts a shoulder to a shrug yet didn't correct him. there was no need to since lelouch had much time to understand the weird complex sciences during his immortality. this just leads to some weird trips and detective hunts. 

"soooo…" c.c. trails off as she tosses the crumpled up newspaper into a public trashcan. it went in,  **score** ! she was waiting for lelouch's grand plan to somehow fix this grand mess. lelouch knew much about her , to her annoyance -- since this might be fun for her.

lelouch rolls his eyes, typical selfish witch. it makes him  **smile fondly** since it's endearment by this point of their existence. "if southern germany is correct, then a tear is there.  _ where _ ?"

"lake constance. weird but not unusual. it seems that each tear appears in  _ secluded _ areas. i wonder if this is deliberately planned or just lucky." c.c. states as she was snacking on some street food. lelouch chose not to comment or care. he's used to it. 

so lake constance it is. 

☆☆☆

" _ here _ ? why send us  **_here_ ** for their mess?"

"i don't know, t.t. we just do things…"

"doesn't mean i like it, x.x. come here, your hair is all over the place." 

"but it's always --  _ mmmh… _ "

the tear closes as two geass users have emerged from it, the taller of the two grumping over the shorter companion. they both had insanely out of control black hair, yet the taller one has blood red eyes as his companion had grey eyes. the two are a couple and as well pursue the truth. t.t. finally stops fussing over the insanely curled and wavy hair of his partner as he glared at the abandoned buildings. 

so they were dropped to venice, italy. a tourist attraction and a beacon for trouble. any geass user with a brain cell can find this out, almost drawn to it. it just happened to be tedious going places using most of your energy. 

"we need to hurry before the empress or zero catches on. there's some tears here that need to be closed shut." x.x. sighs as he adjusts the hoodie he wore, pouting as t.t. lifts him up. of course his tall partner wore a sexy ass suit with tattoos all over his stupid buff arms.  **anyways** ! taking out a tablet and turning it on, x.x. activates the password, pulling up the check list. yes, he was one of  _ those _ people that always makes lists so he wouldn't forget. he truly is scatterbrained. 

"we use our usual alias?" 

"teneb and xana?"

"yes, of course. makes it easier to blend in."

"... teneb, anything like you won't be easy to blend in." and a muffled squeak follows afterwards when he's dropped to the ground. he huffs in annoyance as he gets to his feet. teneb can be absolutely mean when he truly wants to so he has a reason to ignore him for the day and that will make teneb  **frustrated** . 

venice is a mess if the scattered corpses and filthy streets were any indication. another mess is that both of them sensed a disturbance in different directions. they didn't have the leisure time to check both together, so they needed to consult the good  _ heads or tails _ game. xana pulls out a quarter with a hum. as usual he does head and teneb gets tails. 

"this better be good."

☆☆☆

"two just left c's world. i don't know if they're hostile but it's most likely they are." c.c informs lelouch as they "borrowed" (  _ okay, stole _ ) a motorcycle, she was driving it as lelouch clung to her from behind. even if it hurt the ex prince's pride he knew better than to try using a machine he knew nothing of. she thinks it's a pity for charles and marianne to never have their many children drive. knightmares were no substitute for driving vehicles. 

lelouch grumbles against her shoulder, eyes closed tightly. he unfortunately gains motion sickness on regular vehicles. he knows c.c. is expecting an answer so he breathes in shakily with a soft groan. "we continue with the plan to lake constance. if they aren't a danger to us right now we can deal with them later." he  _ blanches _ when c.c. does a fast swerve to avoid some potholes, the stench of lake water and wildlife hitting his nose. they were obviously near their destination and c.c. was trying very hard (  _ he doesn't know why _ ) not to get them killed. lelouch doesn't bother to say anything about it since it didn't matter for the two of them. immortality wasn't all that amazing but it sure was bloody painful. 

c.c. scoffs as she decides to go off road this time because she feels a sudden sharp irritation in her code; and lelouch jerks his head up when he senses it as well. as he narrows his eyes the witch revs the bike and booked it when she spots a nearby forest. the witch knows full well lelouch will have some rather colorful words for her when attaining safety but he'll have to suck it up.

"hold on, boy."

a groan, "c.c. what are you plannin--  _ ack _ !?"

☆☆☆

lelouch slowly blinked open his eyes, pain hitting him and a low groan of pain left his lips.  _ apparently _ they had collided painfully with something big, impacting against them that they flew off the back.

(  _ "lelouch!  _ **_lelouch_ ** _ , hold onto me!" c.c. shouts in panic as she attempts to grab at her -dearest- companion's hands, the dark haired immortal covering his face from the result of the collision. she curses and stretches out her small hands to grab at anything of him yet her fingers grasp nothing. no, no! she cannot lose him for it was her strongest fear. selfish she is but she couldn't bear to have her companion die, too. suzaku kururugi died so long ago that lelouch got closer to her. not intimately but their bond was profound, as if they knew another for centuries. _

_ but fear is evident, and he lowers his arms to shout something at her. the air was too dense and loud as the bike's parts scattered to different directions so she couldn't hear him well. c.c. can read lips though and she assumes lelouch is  _ **_screaming_ ** _ at her to find safety as they went opposite directions. _

_ lelouch's pounding heart reminds him of what humanity was once like. _ )

it took  **all** of lelouch's energy to get up, rubbing his eyes to realize he was in an abandoned (?) shack. he takes a very deep breath as he instantly became alert seeing faint lights underneath the closed door; the scent of food cooking as well alarmed him. lelouch considers his options as he shakily places his feet on the floor, clenching his teeth as slight signs of vertigo makes way to hit him. he closes his amethyst eyes, leaning down, burying his face into a pillow to get rid of the  **uncomfortable** sensation. it reminds him of when su -- no, he mentally stops himself from finishing that thought. 

it's when he realizes there is something  **wrong** when he gathers himself, the hair rising on the back of his neck. the atmosphere… the feeling. he didn't feel like he belonged here. where was c.c.? did she make it out alive? then lelouch can hear voices though they may be faint. 

"no… that can't…. sure, ten…?" 

"yes, ze…. the wo…."

lelouch grunts to strain to listen to the conversation easily growing irritated that he could make bits and pieces of words. he tenses when he hears footsteps approaching the door, lelouch instantly moving to the other side of the room. distance was good. he had to protect himself just in case. he has geass… that's all he has besides his wit and charm. he inhales as the door creaks open with some unfamiliar faces and one familiar one step in. 

lelouch is floored. it was easy to tell.

" _ n...nina _ ?" his voice sputters but she seemed worse for wear. he remembers her being more confident with the courage and drive to make weapons that wouldn't nuke an entire nation. this one? this one… stares at him like she's seen a ghost, face pale and body trembling.

"i'm xana, this is teneb, and this is -- "

"abel." 

lelouch can faintly see the markings of geass in the eyes of those who presented themselves. did he and c.c. skip over potential threats during their travels? where was the damn witch?  _ wherewherewherewhere _ \--

abel (  _ blue hair like the night sky and blood red eyes, pupils like a snakes _ ) shook his head and steps forward as nina followed him. lelouch narrowed his eyes when he watches her, fists curling and.

"lelouch, demon emperor of britannia.  _ y-you're supposed to be dead _ ... " 


	2. ( life's) anaesthetic is sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a little nsfw mentions, mhm.

lelouch grimaced as they shoved (  _ or just nina _ ) some prodding stuff on him, snarling and curling lips back to expose his teeth. he certainly dislikes being touched in any shape or form even from someone who had an unhealthy obsession over his dead half-sister. if she were alive he is sure that they'd be spending time together and becoming the best of friends. he finds it odd they didn't restrain him once they found him but, he knew it was his real threat in his eyes.  _ even so… _

"we don't need to restrain you, your geass won't work on the three of us. possibly nina, though you're  above that ." the one named teneb casually says as if reading his mind. lelouch glares at him. thanks to paranoia there wasn't any trust given to those words. he takes things with a grain of salt, making a move will possibly have him end up on the floor. teneb regards him with those eerie red eyes, having taken out a cigarette to smoke. lelouch wants to wrinkle his nose in disgust. he remembers suzaku using those for some time before he passed away, the scent of nicotine and bamboo remained in his mind. 

nina flexed her fingers, "you… you never had  _ that _ ." she had spotted the code in which she took a step back. she would know since lelouch's corpse had nothing but the stab wound zero gave to him. nina knew she was palling, a shaky finger pointing accusingly at him. lelouch rolls his eyes. what happened to the strong willed woman that did the most she could to make up for suzaku killing millions of lives? 

"don't mind her. she's…" before xana can continue he simply shrugs, making lelouch rub his temples. "either way, i think you won't like what's going on. what's the last you remember?" xana inquired, slender fingers messing with teneb's mess of hair. lelouch opened his mouth but then closed it, since he realized he… didn't remember much. he was  _ sure _ he knew. 

he inhales softly, closing eyes as he tries to recall. nothing came up --  _ except _ of what happened to him and c.c. lelouch remembers the panic he felt when they were both scattered and he couldn't see who caused it. lelouch never felt so helpless in a situation as he wasn't in control. he flinches when one of them places a hand on his head. amethyst eyes see the one named abel was petting his head and, and he just sighs. 

"the tear is nearby the  _ empress' _ palace. go there to rid it." abel offers with an attractive smirk before retracting his hand. lelouch opens his mouth only to see that the weird guy disappeared; something akin to how c.c. does it. it took him a moment to realize what he said as panic started to settle in, suddenly jerking his body. that damn parental instinct of his when regarding the reason for his sins.

" _ take me to nunnally _ !"

if only it were that simple.

☆☆☆

suzaku stares tiredly at the mess of bottles on the table, the stench pretty much ignored. more so he became used to it that it was just another background prop. three years since zero requiem happened, three years of people _celebrating_ his death, and three years of himself **breaking down**. he has his own misgivings of the entire plan but it was lelouch. since he planned it, there was no way for him to change his mind. suzaku remembers how lelouch had the determined look on his face as he handed over the zero mask.

"when...when will this nightmare end?" he softly mumbles as he laid back on the sofa, realizing that the uniform was off. suzaku doesn't recall… the scent of flowery perfume hits him as a woman walks over, naked with the stench of sex all over her.  _ oh, right _ . suzaku remembers. at times there were lows that he usually (  _ unfortunately _ ) needed some form of comfort; but he reassured himself that these women were zero supporters and he didn't seem to care. suzaku knew he stopped caring when the truth about zero made him spiral.

the woman rests against him with her breasts pressed against his chest; suzaku  **imagines** it to be the slender pale figure with dark hair and glowing amethysts. he  **imagines** it's the unmasked zero going between his legs, those pretty and damned cursed eyes staring up at him as warm wetness swallows his cock. his nerves were screaming from the pleasure with his imagination making it even more delicious. the zero that killed his beloved princess sucking and moaning, those slender fingers wrap around his base. 

when he feels ecstasy, he shoves the woman's face closer as his lips release a lustful needy sound dangerously sounding of  _ lelouch _ . 

_he imagines it to be the emperor who tenderly_ _caressed_ _his soul before destroying it with his love._

☆☆☆

"how are you, zero? you won't have to do much today." nunnally smiles thinly at zero as he greets her in her work quarters. as he gets on a knee for his usual bow she simply gestures for him to stand. as zero does she could smell something strange, frowning up at zero with concern. "are… are you alright?" she wonders why zero tenses at her question.

"i am fine, your majesty. what are the plans for today?" but he knew the stench of sex remained on him despite bathing. nunnally didn't have to know that he took women home and pretended it was her brother pleasuring him. or the fact he'd be balls deep inside of these women just to chase the feeling similar to how it was with  **him** . nunnally doesn't need to know the sins he added to his soul. hell, he wished for so many choices to take back and this was one of them.

nunnally eyes him with a look of disbelief but she was too tired for some debate or verbal conflict. there was one job for zero to do. at least she can push her doubts behind her mind as she then smiles at zero. "i don't need much from you today, just patrol the palace. i'm being accompanied by cornelia and kallen to a meeting." she informs her guardian with a pleasant smile.  _ zero stiffens _ . despite being dead to the world he still had some of his personality, anxiety crawling in his blood. being on autopilot each day was enough to  **numb** him.

"in all respect, your majesty -"

nunnally cuts him off, "go take a rest after you do your hourly patrols." then with a gentle voice and tender smile, " _suzaku…_ **_please_**." and that was enough for him to just simply bow his head in form of submission to nunnally before he stood and left.

and here he stood by the small pond he and lelouch used to spend their time at. when the plan for zero requiem was spoken between them their interactions were less than savory. they barely spoke and he noticed lelouch keeping him away at arm's length. he welcomed the distance at first but then the  _ nightmares _ came. they weren't about his father this time nor euphemia and it was always usually the latter. 

the nightmares had been sweet dreams in the beginning for having the chance to kill lelouch. suzaku remembers that it was  **justified** so all those he killed were paid back, but… the dreams became too graphic for him to bear. it had been worse than the images c.c. gave to him when he still stood by his so called  _ justice _ . the nightmares were so vivid that he swore he could feel the weight of lelouch's body and the scent of blood even after waking up.

"lelouch.  _ lelouch _ ." he pleads quietly as he removes his mask, cool air hitting his face. of course no answer came and it hasn't for two years. suzaku's lonely, aching and longing for an existence he snuffed out due to his own cowardice. slowly he squats while resting his forehead against cape covered kneecaps and took a deep breath.  _ no tears came _ . oh, how much he wanted them to since his grief was still strong. he mourned for his lost childhood, for the false peace in that summer, and the useless existence given to lelouch. 

as he wallows in his loathing his body jumps to its feet when he hears a cry of pain to his left where the sunflowers were. red alarms and panic blared painfully in his brain; mask placed onto his face once again as he dashed towards the source.

"ugh… that's…" the witch groans as she pushes sunflowers from her face, irritated for  **_so many_ ** reasons. in an instance she knew she lost lelouch when his warmth doesn't greet her. she clenches her teeth together as she gets onto her feet, scowling when something collides into her  _ yet again. _

☆☆☆

"seems sister cornelia looks like the stuck up bitch as usual." lelouch breathed through his mouth as he followed teneb through a path. apparently the tall motherfucker decided to drag him like a sack of potatoes out of the shack, going through a maze-like garden. the whole nature thing wasn't lelouch's thing since it was more of… no, no. he can't. lelouch shakes his head while stepping carefully over ridiculously large tree roots, sneezing as some pollen stuck to him.  _ ugh _ ! of all the nerve…

might as well start the game of twenty questions to pass the boredom. 

"why do you have the geass?"

"because of reasons."

"... fuck you."

"my partner already does that."

**a frustrated groan.**

"so why are you holding me hostage?"

"not a hostage, more of a concern." 

"ookaay…. concern of what?" confusion evident. 

"being a target. what have you figured out by being here?"

lelouch pauses as they walk. he hasn't come to a conclusion just yet but he has some ideas. truthfully his body is still in shock from the impact earlier so he tugs at his sleeve to soothe his anxiety. "i haven't concluded one hundred percent. i have a theory i ended up in an illusion of the c's world." it  _ has _ to be an illusion despite the nagging itch in the back of his mind. 

_ \-- so, if… _

he let out a  _ womanly _ shriek when teneb yanks him down to the ground, mouth open to scream until he heard a blade spin past him. literally, three inches above his head.  _ oh for the love of! _ a hiss leaves his mouth while adrenaline flows intensely. did they have someone already on their tail because if so there would be issues. lelouch had no qualms hurting those threatening his life so before he could make his presence known, the damn guy teneb yanks him back.

" **_put me down_ ** !"

"no, unless you want to have xingke a reason to cut your dick off." wow, such  _ colorful _ language. as teneb dragged him into a spot with tall plant stalks lelouch can see some figures pass ahead of them. 

_ 'i thought i saw him here…!' _

_ 'cornelia won't be…' _

_ 'screw cornelia, i'm more worried about…' _

lelouch inhales as he covers his own mouth since he didn't trust himself to hold back. though cornelia may be his older sister she truly was an enemy. lelouch held no affection for her compared to euphemia so the feelings were mutual. she hates him and he hates her in which nothing could change that. so as he strains to listen in he realizes that his code is throbbing painfully. lelouch grimaced, grasping onto teneb's arms as vertigo wanted to make things worse for him. 

_ this is what happened when i was near the first tear… _ lelouch gulps as he curses under his breath as his taller companion yanked him to his feet. after staggering quite a bit he leans against a tree with an exhausted expression; teneb regarding him with unreadable red eyes. lelouch almost wanted to snap at him.  _ almost _ . he may be immortal and can return but he valued his skin at the moment. 

"it's near, isn't it." teneb states as he stares down at the former emperor only to figure out that it is. it's because of lelouch and the witch that they were in a different world since they poked their noses into business not meant for them. teneb turns as lelouch composes himself, "if it's this close then cornelia knows it's here. the witch of britannia wouldn't be seeking out anyone this far in the forest." and lelouch inhales shakily as he pushes himself off from his temporary perch.

( "this bullcrap is hurting me." julius drawls in the deepest corners of lelouch's mind, a pout well detected. 

lelouch had briefly dissociated in the outside world, to which he brought himself to the inner world of his mind. he needed some peace since he was feeling a bit overwhelmed, and -- well, it wouldn't have gone well. so as julius greeted him with a complaint he simply just sits on the couch with a groan.

"then  _ you  _ take control. i'm getting super overloaded."  **sensory overload** is lelouch's weak area since he and c.c. found out about julius and the disorder all at once. 

julius only grins with a pleased expression. )


	3. good grief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one took a little longer to get done. sorry.

c.c. sighs as she puts her long hair into a ponytail as suzaku stared down hard at her, arms crossed. she can only assume possible theories yet it all ends with suzaku still alive. there hadn't been any signal of lelouch so that instantly tells her he was dead. fear grips her often stoic heart because of the simple fact she saw him hours before their separation. the witch doesn't feel too friendly to speak with suzaku who dresses himself as zero so she chose to keep silent. 

too bad suzaku kururugi was a stubborn, hot headed boy.

"c.c. why are you here? i thought you left to wander the earth alone." there was a bitter snap in his tone as he glared hard. she notes there isn't any hatred in those hardened eyes but something like loneliness. was this suzaku that didn't die? c.c. is well aware of those possibilities. 

she hums as she dropped the loose hair onto her left shoulder. the witch refuses to give a proper response due to the predictable reaction. suzaku wasn't a man of logic or sense so it simply is beyond question to explain what had happened. she doesn't even flinch when he punches the wall next to him. what was he going to do? torture her? what a laugh!

"you know, i'm not obligated to tell you anything. how is it being zero?" she asks while assuming that the lelouch hasn't been resurrected just yet. or, if at all. this meant the lelouch here didn't ever return as suzaku slowly wilts in his loneliness and decaying age. she watches as his green eyes go through a plethora of emotions that obviously shifts too fast. suzaku had always been an emotional child and didn't like to be told different things that clashed with his own views and opinions. this is the reason why lelouch always felt suzaku hated him even if he himself loved the stupid idiot. 

suzaku inhales deeply as he glares at her while picking up his mask. she notes his movements and posture were stiff, tense like a rusty machine that hadn't been kept up to date. the witch also assumes the child kept to himself in his isolation whilst yearning for the one person he had killed. it was a glorious sight to see since he had been so stuck in the past and a foolish little girl. 

" _ it's nothing specia _ l. i'm doing my duty to keep the peace." his voice is bitter and the air around him is  **devastating** . c.c. can sense his misery in waves that she sighs with a bemused expression. what bothers her the most is the  _ faint, familiar smell _ that bugs and alarms her. she doesn't visibly display it since suzaku is watching her intently but she  _ knows _ that smell. 

**_refrain_ ** was hidden somewhere in this room, and much of it. she truly didn't care for the drug centuries ago until meeting lelouch. even she  **panicked** when kallen informed her that one night of lelouch's  _ temptation _ . the witch couldn't blame him due to what suzaku and charles did together and it still makes her nervous system seethe with anger. now to find out about suzaku's dirty secret would've brought lelouch to his knees and the damn warlock would've broken down and cried. 

lelouch always had been endearingly foolish and loving that it brings him to have rash decisions. 

"hmmmm." c.c. taps her chin in thought as she stretches her legs as they begin to feel dull. "don't think too much of it, kururugi. you're doing your part of the deal."

_ i don't want to do it, i wanted to stop him, i never got to tell how i felt, i never got to be honest. _

suzaku only shrugs as he puts on the mask, "however  _ you _ see it, i don't care. i accepted the geass when i killed him." the words were empty, void of emotion as c.c. watches him turn to leave. she was about to open her mouth but suzaku spoke before she did. "just don't linger too long. don't harm the empress or cause trouble." he warns her as he leaves. 

c.c. has a sudden idea, instantly going to find the empress.

□□

cornelia stomps through the palace grounds, hands clenched into fists as she searches high and low for the intruders. though nunnally was in charge she thinks she's too soft when dealing with their enemies, and cornelia was intent on getting rid of enemies that particularly have the geass. 

"search once more before we search the gardens! gilford, secure the front gates so none may come in our out!"

"yes, my liege." the knight gives her a slight bow before running to his new destination, leaving cornelia to the rest of the scouting party. no, cornelia didn't have the right to authorize such a search from the empress herself yet that never stopped her. the loss of losing euphemia was too much for her to bear and the thought of nunnally getting hurt gave plenty of nightmares and anxiety.

of course her young half sister had become much more than lelouch, an angel compared to the horrible demon, but there are those who still denied a britannian in power. cornelia couldn't let it happen! she couldn't let any harm go to her third favorite sibling. even if she was often impulsive for her decisions, cornelia knew she meant well deep down inside. if only schneizel understood her intentions instead of being swayed by the complete obedience of zero.

a noise brings her out of her thoughts when hearing a loud rustle from the right, grabbing her firearm and pointing it instantly. "reveal yourself! how dare you sneak up on me?!" cornelia snaps while taking off the safety. if one knew of her nature in battle there wouldn't be any sneak attacks of  **any kind** .

cornelia froze when she saw the mass of long green hair, sputtering because this was the damned woman who seduced her brother to turn against their own family. "you! you're the witch." she hisses with every intent to shoot the woman in the head. she'll never forgive this woman for letting the power of geass run rampant and ruin lives of many -- even dearest euphemia.

c.c. blinks in surprise as she sees cornelia, "oh. it seems i made a wrong turn." she lazily says when realizing that she made a wrong turn. had she been so  _ lax _ on remembering directions? no, it wasn't that. it was because nunnally had changed certain areas to keep her brother's treasures safe and memories from harm. the fact she ran into cornelia doesn't bother her and she understands nunnally's intentions, so she can't be too upset. her gaze falls on the witch ready to shoot her and she can't help but snort. the britannian family surely were a handful. 

"you know, pointing a gun at me won't do a thing. you  _ never _ had a knack for using your brain before taking the leap." c.c. lazily comments as she observes her surroundings. she came from that way… so if she took that turn… maybe she can take the path that leads to the courtyard and… 

the sound of gunshots caused birds to scatter from their nests in a cry of outrage.

□□

lelouch vi britannia wants to throw up.

he never was one to take strides in physical activities since that was more suzaku's forte, so when he's on his last legs running to the palace he's about to collapse. teneb doesn't have a sympathetic bone in his body as he grabs him like a sack of potatoes and heaving him onto his shoulder, "i'll never understand how you managed to cause destruction as the demon emperor if you can't even manage to run somewhat." and that damn aloof tone was enough to make lelouch (  **weakly** ) punch his so called savior's shoulder. 

"well, excuse me! why are you taking me to the damned palace anyways?! my sister cannot ever see me!" he's panicking when the palace comes to his sight. as much as he wants to see her, embrace her and say how deeply sorry he was he knew he couldn't. perhaps nunnally hates him for all he gave up for their future. if she did it would be much more painful for their reunion meeting. 

teneb doesn't answer as he takes lelouch to one of the secret gardens that belonged to the empress herself, tossing the ex emperor onto the ground. he chose to ignore the irritated grunts of annoyance that his unwilling partner decided to make. "nobody really comes here and your sister does on zero requiem day. there's a small cottage where you'll be hiding out until the time is right." teneb informs lelouch as he rummages through the patch of peony flowers to search for the skeleton key of the castle. 

"what…? what am i exactly to do? or understand? give me answers at least." lelouch sounds too tired to be angry at anyone as he struggled to sit up, feeling exhaustion hit him. he did have a twinge of annoyance when he saw the grass stains on his clothing yet chose to bite back irritated comments for the sake of keeping his sanity. his lower back hurt, his mind was too numb to think rationally and his lungs were working overtime to gain oxygen. he doesn't like having no control on his issues and situations so this truly was spiking up his anxiety.

teneb stands when he finally acquired the key while flexing his left hand. 

"as of right now, i need you to nap before he finds you." the geass user cooly says as lelouch fell to the ground, knocked out when struck at the base of his neck.

"he'll be too irrational if he saw you now." 


End file.
